keetz, your automatic hubs sound about normal. If you still have the factory sticker on your driver's side door it mentions that you need to reverse about 5 feet in order to disengage the auto lock. They shouldn't disengage unless you reverse. Also, there is nothing to be scared of unless you hear weird noises.

That said, in the long run, I recommend manual hubs. The Gen1 auto hubs were pretty basic in functionality anyway. Automatic hubs have parts that wear down and as you found, the replacement parts are hard or impossible to come by. The manual hubs are more reliable because they have minimal wear parts. I use the Aisin FHM-002 hubs on my Gen1.

If you have your mechanic swap out your hubs, ask to keep the original onesÔÇöthey will still be a decent set of trail spares, or someone on the internet will buy them from you if you don't want them.

thanks for the reply - I just checked and I do still have the sticker there. I figured as much when I was checking the vehicle out that it probably needed to go backward to get them out of auto from driving some other 80's 4x4s when I was teenager but still wasn't totally sure enough to bank on the guy I got it from just not really knowing - I only know maybe 2% more. ha

sorry I'm prob. asking a ton of dumb questions but really trying to soak up as much as I can -
So what happens to my system if I move to manual hubs? It can't be as simply as just swapping out the hubs themselves can it? I would imagine there's gotta be a vacuum system that engages the auto ones so how do I deal with the light system on my dash that comes on when it's locked if i move to manual? Do i lose that? Is the computer going to do (or not do) something different if the auto hubs aren't there?

The auto hubs should not be greased. Manual hubs can be greased. Auto hubs need oil. Check the FSM for details. When auto hubs are greased, they stick and become slow to lock/unlock.

so no white lithium grease inside the autohubs? I see where he's saying not to use thicker grease and that matches up with the comment about "no grease, only oil" - but do we know for sure that white lithium grease is also no good?

It is as simple as swapping the hubs themselves. There is no vacuum system for locking hubs on the Gen1 Monteros. The light on the dash works with either auto hubs or manual hubs.

Interesting that there's so many different interpretations of the factory service manual for lubricating auto hubs. The main thing that folks should agree on is that you should never pack an auto/manual hub full of grease. It's a bit counterintuitive because you should use liberal amounts of grease on the wheel bearings and in the space where the wheel bearings are (which is confusingly also called a wheel hub). To add to the confusion, the auto/manual hubs and the wheel hub share the same cavity. They just use different amounts of lubrication.

great to know the manual hubs won't affect the dash or any necessitate any other non-factory changes.

I think I got it regarding the lubrication:
pack bearings/races as usual with grease
- put em in.
Put the hub in -
lubricate hub with oil